For the last three years I’ve been anchored in the South Pacific, writing a book about my voyage. From daunting weather to relationships sweet and sour, wild waves and boat repairs, this very personal memoir shares my many challenges, my search for harmony with nature, and how I come to understand the unity of all things. The team at Patagonia Books, along with illustrator Daniella Manini, bring my story to life with amazing art and four photo galleries! It’s a work of enormous love, with the intention to inspire others to follow their hearts, protect our planet, and live out their dreams. Book is available now in hard copy at most your favorite book stores, as an e-book here or you click on the link to the right to order online with delivery to your address! With love and gratitude, Capt Liz Clark
After 3 years of writing, I’m excited to share the personal STORY of my voyage with the world. Book available now!

GET OOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!

Adrian, the cheery 6’ 2” Canadian, was low on cash but full of spirit. He had been borrowing my bike for the prior week to ride to town for parts and pieces to fix up his newly acquired steel sloop. He dropped by just as Mike’s overtime charges were about to begin accumulating, so I thanked Mike profusely for getting things started, then turned the challenge over to Adrian. He needed cash; I needed help. He accepted the challenge for a reasonable fee, but after a few more hours of struggling in our sleep-deprived haze, we decided to reconvene the following morning…

I added oil to the jack and we were back in business. We carefully set up Mike’s puzzle of wooden blocks and metal plates that made a safe pushing platform for the jack. Next, it was time to pull out the heavy artillery…My buddy, Kyber, on ‘Natty M’ had run me through a quick certification in the use of his pyromaniac’s delight—a hefty, flame-spitting, butane torch. The idea was to repeatedly heat and cool the bronze tube from outside (without setting Swell on fire…) in hopes of breaking the tube’s bonds with the surrounding fiberglass. Adrian stood by with a bucket o’ water in the event I lost control of the torch. The tube turned rainbow colors under the heat and boiled the water that was soaked in the surrounding fiberglass. Fantastic! When we both agreed that any more heating might cause Swell to spontaneously combust, Adrian threw on some water to induce quick contraction of the metal.

Adrian finishes the battle…

…millimeter by sweet millimeter…

THRILLED. And look…those holes in the tube were the culprit of the leak.

Next came the final showdown. Back inside the cabin, a few pumps of the jack’s lever placed 20-tons of pressure against that stubborn ol’ shaft tube. At first it didn’t budge at all…

I couldn’t bear to watch. If this failed I would have to concede to ‘open-fiberglass surgical tube removal’. Being rather nervous around pressurized jacks after my accident last year, I decided it was better for me to go down and survey what was happening on the other end.

“Hit it with the sledgehammer!!” Adrian called from above.

“Okay!!” I hollered back, slinging the beastly tool over my shoulder and unloading on the exposed part of the tube.

“It moved!!” He yelled.

“It MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEED!” I shrieked back in delight. The tube had officially broken from the fiberglass and moved 1mm in the right direction!

We carried on like this for the better part of the day: Adrian loading up pressure with the jack from the top, while I occasionally hammered from below. When the jack reached its maximum length, we’d pull it out and shove some other piece of steel inside, re-assemble the support, and continue to push. Millimeter by sweeeeeeet millimeter, we pushed it out of the hull! That afternoon, the final 6 inches of the tube slid out to expose a series of corroded holes, meaning it was certain that the corroded tube WAS in fact the culprit of all this leaky madness!!

My husband, Matt, and I are in full preparations for throwing off the bowlines in pursuit of our own dream of cruising about the world within the next year.

It’s encouraging to see other young, successful cruisers out there living this dream. We admire your drive, tenacity, and resourcefulness along this journey and are learning from your experiences. Thank you for sharing them here.

Would you mind if we listed your site as “other cruisers we follow” on our site?

Sarah,leah,lauren

March 30, 2010

Hola from Nicaragua! We are enjoying reading all your posts. We have made reading your blog a nightly tradition, and love hearing about your adventures with Swell. We feel connected to you not only as fellow surfers but also with your simpler lifestyle.
Although Nicaragua offers a simpler lifestyle as well, we feel inspired to be more in touch with nature in our everyday lives.
You are more than welcome to sail on over here anytime you want; our home is your home.

Psalm 93

Amor y paz,
Lauren, Leah, and Sarah
PS. Is there room for three more on Swell??